HMO Tenancy Agreement: For Licensed and Unlicensed HMOs

A room-only assured periodic tenancy template for licensed HMO properties — Houses in Multiple Occupation. Each tenant has their own agreement covering their room plus shared use of common areas, with the additional safeguards needed in licensed HMO settings.

What is an HMO?

A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is a property let to at least 3 tenants forming more than 1 household who share facilities such as a kitchen and bathroom. Where at least 5 tenants forming more than 1 household share those facilities, the property is a large HMO and requires a mandatory HMO licence from the local council; smaller HMOs may still need additional or selective licensing depending on the local authority.

The Housing Act 2004 sets the framework, but each council runs its own licensing scheme on top. Checking with the local authority before letting any HMO is standard practice, since licence conditions vary significantly between councils.

Why a room-only assured periodic tenancy is essential for HMOs

Since 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 abolished fixed terms and assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) across the private rented sector in England. Every new letting — including each room in an HMO — is now an assured periodic tenancy: open-ended, rolling on a periodic basis, with no contractual end date.

In a properly run HMO, each tenant typically has their own assured periodic tenancy covering their specific room. This matters because:

• Tenants can be dealt with individually, without their tenancy being tied to the others in the property.
• Rent and deposit are recorded per-tenant.
• Each tenant's right-to-rent and deposit protection is documented separately.
• If one tenant breaches their tenancy, the others are unaffected.

A single joint tenancy with multiple tenants creates "joint and several liability" — a tenant who behaves perfectly can find themselves liable for another tenant's rent arrears or damage. That works for student lets where parents are the financial backstop, but is rarely appropriate in working HMOs.

Recovering possession from student HMO tenants: RRA 2025 Ground 4A

For purpose-let student HMOs, the Renters' Rights Act 2025 inserted a new possession ground — Ground 4A — into Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988. It is a mandatory ground: once the conditions below are proved, the court has no discretion to refuse possession. All of the following conditions must be met:

• The dwelling-house is, or is part of, an HMO.
• Every tenant met the "student test" when the tenancy was granted — each was a full-time student, or the landlord reasonably believed they would become one during the tenancy. On a joint tenancy this must be true of every joint tenant; on a room-only tenancy, each tenant's own tenancy is assessed individually.
• Before the tenancy began, the landlord gave the tenant a written statement of intent to be able to rely on Ground 4A, including that the landlord intends to re-let the room to a student on the next occasion.
• The tenancy was not granted more than 6 months before the tenant became entitled to move in.
• The landlord genuinely intends to re-let the room to a student when it is next let.
• The date specified in the notice falls between 1 June and 30 September in any year.

The standard notice period for Ground 4A is 4 months. Student accommodation let by a specified educational institution, or by a landlord or manager who is a member of the specified student housing management code of practice, generally sits outside the assured tenancy regime under Schedule 1 paragraph 8 of the Housing Act 1988, so Ground 4A does not arise. Such a tenancy can, however, become an assured tenancy in some circumstances (Housing Act 1988 Sch 1 para 8(7), widened by the Renters' Rights Act 2025 s.32 and the Student Accommodation (Miscellaneous Provisions) (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/327) — at which point Ground 4A can apply, with the written pre-tenancy statement condition instead treated as met if it is given within 28 days of the tenancy becoming assured. The ground does not apply to properties that fall outside the HMO definition.

Additional HMO obligations beyond the tenancy agreement

Running an HMO is not just about the tenancy paperwork. Landlords in this position typically also need to:

• Hold an HMO licence (mandatory for 5+ tenants forming more than 1 household; additional licensing varies by council).
• Comply with fire safety regulations: smoke alarms, fire doors, escape routes.
• Maintain Gas Safety, EICR, and PAT testing records.
• Meet minimum room size standards (defined by the council and statute).
• Comply with refuse storage regulations.
• Meet council-specific HMO licence conditions.

What you still need to do

Per tenant, all standard assured periodic tenancy requirements apply: deposit protection, EPC, gas and electrical safety, right-to-rent, and a written statement of terms under section 16D of the Housing Act 1988, whose required contents are set by the Assured Tenancies (Private Rented Sector) (Written Statement of Terms etc and Information Sheet) (England) Regulations 2026. The separate Renters' Rights Act Information Sheet applied to tenancies that were already running on 1 May 2026 and had to be served by 31 May 2026; it is not part of granting a new room-only tenancy. The How to Rent guide was withdrawn on 1 May 2026 and no longer applies to new lettings. Documenting these separately for each room and tenant, and inventorying the room plus the tenant's shared use of communal areas, is the standard approach in a properly run HMO.